Category: Environmental

Technology has changed the world for the better- and there’s great potential to take steps to save the planet. These technologies, gadgets and apps are all designed to improve the eco-efficiency of your home.

There are many sources of nutrient pollution in water. Scientists are interested in the nutrients that are related to people living in the coastal zone because human-related inputs are much greater than natural inputs. As there are more people living in coastal areas, there are more nutrients entering our coastal waters from wastewater treatment facilities, runoff from land in urban areas during rains, and from farming.iSpring 75GPD 5-Stage Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System

Explore more visuals like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from living in Texas during the summer, it’s that energy bills can be a major pain. Just from past experience it makes sense why our state has one of the five highest electricity bills in the nation. What I didn’t know, however, is that things weren’t always this bad. In the last three years energy bills have risen by an astounding 37%. This can be attributed to the increased use of household appliances and electronic devices (not just the weather). Also, surprisingly, newer houses (year 2000 and later) typically use 2% more energy. So can anything be done to lower these costs? The simple answer is yes, but it may take some habit breaking and some smart use of technology.

In my house, I’m constantly having to turn off lights, appliances, stereos, etc. that my roommates leave on forever. The reason I do this is because through actively regulating how much energy you’re using actually can make a difference in your utility bill. This in combination with lowering the thermostat during winter and turning off the air during summer (when you don’t need it AKA when you’re out of the house) will also be a life-saver for your energy use. Now with smart technologies such as Nest and ADT, you can sync your house thermostat, appliance use and lighting options with your phones, tablets, or computers to change your electricity usage even when you aren’t at home! I’m curious to see how technologies such as these will impact the nation’s average energy bill in the future. We shall see.

This infographic actually reminds me of when I was a kid watching one of my favorite movies – Water World. Freaking aqua-man Kevin Costner vs. Eye-patch Dennis Hopper. I mean, it’s really a bad movie, but it’s the concept that was so interesting to me. Of course, it was fantasy back then, but now I feel like Water World is even more convincing to me now than when I was an impressionable child who thought that Flubber was totally real.

Haters gonna hate, but climate change is happening whether you like it (believe it) or not. The world is already 71% water–it doesn’t seem too outrageous to believe that melting ice might up the anty on that number majorly. Please, just watch Chasing Ice, it more than clearly shows the astonishing amount of ice that has been (and will be) falling into the sea everyday.

I’m quite sad that climate change has become such a political issue. So many scientists have proven time and time again that what we are doing on this planet affects the planet itself. It just astounds me that we haven’t been doing more to curb our carbon emissions. Well, I guess we can just live in Water World. That’d actually be pretty sweet. Nevermind. Carry on. I’ll pay you one million pounds of dirt to say you never read this infographic. (I want to be Kevin Costner)